Caught In The Rain
by kentish queen
Summary: It was time he brought his wife in from the rain. Written for r becca's Changing Seasons fic exchange on LiveJournal.


**A/N:** Fic for rbecca's Changing Seasons fic exchange on LiveJournal.

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**Caught In the Rain**

Black clouds continued to roll in from the West. The only change in the weather during the last three months was the direction from which it blew. The horizon flashed white as lightning burst somewhere off in the distance, and the windows rattled as thunder shook the house. A lone figure stood illuminated in the back yard as lightning flashed again, closer this time.

He watched from the kitchen window as the rain caused her hair to cling to her shoulders while moulding her clothes to the contours of her petite frame. She hadn't appeared so vulnerable to him in years; not since her first year at Hogwarts, when he'd seen her sprawled on the floor of the chamber. Her body gave the slightest of tremors and she released yet another anguished sob. Her cry was like a knife in Harry's chest.

Since November, when it all started, they had fallen into a regular routine. They sat through a tense dinner, each struggling to find a common ground - she never made it easy on him. One of them would inevitably start the arguing, and it was usually him, when he attempted to get her to talk about _that subject_. He just couldn't understand how everyone else was able to move on, while Ginny remained stagnant.

She'd been so close to her mother, and of course she would take time to mourn her loss. He had expected this behaviour at first, although he found himself taken aback by the sheer depth of it. It was as though she'd completely forgotten how to be happy.

He had tried to be supportive, but as February drew to a close he was beginning to feel his patience waning. The rest of the family had found some form of closure, even he had found closure; it had been an unusual experience, to not feel responsible for the death of a loved one, but it had helped in its own strange way. He just wished he knew of a way to help his wife before he lost her, if he hadn't already. He knew the previous few months had been hard on them both, but things wouldn't get any better unless she let him help her. He felt like he was being punished for all the times he had tried to push her away before.

The first few weeks after the funeral had been bearable; at least in the beginning he'd still felt he had a wife. She had only allowed herself to be vulnerable around him, while not allowing her family to witness her pain in a vain attempt at being strong for them all, but now that was coming back to haunt them. Everything she had kept inside was threatening to burst through and destroy her completely; or at the very least destroy their marriage.

The nights had been the worst. She had cried herself to sleep most of the time, and clung to him with all the strength she could muster. During the day she had been nothing but supportive of her family, putting her own grief on the back burner until she could let it out in the safety of his arms, in the darkness of their bedroom; he may have heard the tears but she never allowed him to _see_ them. Even now she made sure to at least leave the room when she couldn't restrain her desire to cry. It was as if she were suddenly afraid to show him how much she was really hurting. She preferred to cry outside, so she could no longer tell whether the moisture on her cheeks was her own or if it was due to the constant rain.

She'd pushed away from him at Christmas, even going as far as to start sleeping in the spare bedroom. Not long after that the mood swings had started; one minute she would appear perfectly fine and the next she was would be rousing for a fight at the slightest provocation. She only acted like this with him, while refusing to let her family see how much she was suffering. It was killing him that she didn't trust him with her feelings, and that she wouldn't rely on him when she was so obviously in need of help.

His eyes refocused on the figure standing with her head turned skyward in the downpour. Another tremor ran the length of her body, most likely due to the cold. Everyday, he was reminded of how much he loved her, and even gave him more reasons to love her, yet at the same time, each day was becoming a painful reminder that he was so much closer to losing her. This was a thought that he wasn't quite willing to accept. He couldn't live like this anymore, and he was pretty sure she couldn't either.

Knowing it was time he fought for his wife whether she wanted him to or not, Harry Potter set his jaw, drew back his shoulders and walked out into the cold, driving rain.

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In the beginning she had thought she had been reasonably prepared, or at least as prepared as anyone could be when told that his or her mother was dying. She had managed to hold it together for the sake of everyone around her. She had been strong for them, but there had been no one to be strong for her.

Of course, Harry had been attentive, but he had had his own issues to work through because her mother had been almost like his mother, as well. Her brothers and her father had all had their own grief to contend with so it wasn't as if she could intrude on them when she needed a shoulder to cry on; so she had had to rely on herself. But that had gotten her nothing but more grief. She was sleeping in the spare bedroom, and arguing with her husband on a nightly basis over things that clearly didn't matter.

She threw her head back and released an anguished cry, only to have it swept away in the howl of the wind. The weight of her grief was becoming too much; it was a raging storm inside of her, and she was growing too exhausted to contain it.

The day Ginny had discovered that her mother was sick, she along with the rest of her family had all been adamant that the Healers would find away to treat it. There was simply no way that Molly Weasley could die. This belief in her imminent recovery was Ginny's only foothold, and she clung to it desperately and with resolve. Yet as time went by, there was no change in her mother's condition, and inevitably in late November her mother passed away.

Yet whilst her family had all managed to find ways to get their lives back on track, she had never felt more confused. She had tried so hard to move on and regain some sense of normalcy, but it just wasn't that easy. No matter what she tried she still felt empty and wasted inside. The day the Healer had uttered those god-awful words that had made her mother's death real, Ginny's world had shattered, and she couldn't seem to find a way to put it back together.

At first it had seemed like the smartest idea was to be there for her family, to throw herself into caring and comforting them to take her mind off her own grief, but as the weather had progressively worsened, so had her state of mind. There were just too many dark clouds for her to be able to make sense of anything.

Lightning struck off in the distance, but it was the arms snaking their way around her waist that startled her. She tensed as she felt herself being pulled into the familiar warmth of her husband's embrace.

"It's time to come inside, Gin," he whispered into her hair.

"I'm perfectly happy where I am, thanks," she replied tersely, pulling away from him.

Harry tightened his hold around her. "You haven't been happy for a long time," he said, and before she knew what was happening she was standing in the centre of their bedroom.

The force she then used to push away from him caused Harry to stumble backward a couple of steps. The backs of his knees hit the bed, taking him by surprise as he landed flat on his back with an exaggerated 'oof'.

Climbing off of the bed, Harry crossed the room in three long strides and drew Ginny to him again. Instead of pushing him away, this time she melted against him and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, burying her face in her arms as heart-wrenching sobs racked her body. She finally let herself go, and it felt like she would never stop crying.

Ginny wasn't sure how much time had passed as she stayed in Harry's arms, while his right hand ran soothingly along her back, and the other wrapped in her hair. She rested her head against his shoulder. She wasn't aware of time or place; all she knew now was that she was broken, and she wanted it to stop. She was a sobbing mess in her husband's arms as he whispered words of comfort in a genuine attempt to comfort her. It didn't help, but she loved him for it nonetheless.

As she regained some composure, Ginny stiffened. Harry's loving gesture, however welcome, had thrown into sharp relief everything that was wrong with her life. She weakly pushed away from him again ignoring the sharp sigh that escaped him, and made her way to sit on the edge of the bed. She glanced at Harry through her eyelashes, and felt a flicker of pain in her chest at the stoic expression on his face. Then she turned away and looked determinedly at the wall. She felt Harry settle next to her and take her hand; it required all of her self-control not to pull away.

"Isn't there anything I can do anymore?" Harry blurted in frustration. "You have to let me help you, Ginny. You can't do this alone. For Merlin's sake, _let_ me help you_."_

"I don't know how you can help," she sighed. "I just don't know."

"For a start, how about letting me love you? Let me in, and stop pushing me away."

As she sat there Ginny felt the gulf that had grown between them in the last three months. It was like a wave of sickness washing over her, and she felt both heavy and empty at the same time. This was all her fault. They had never been so estranged, and yet she had never needed him so much. She looked up and into his green eyes that had already given her so much love and solace.

She wanted to tell him that he just wouldn't understand what she was going through and that he couldn't help; but that wasn't true. He knew all too well how it felt to lose someone he loved, because he'd felt it many times over. And he had never even had the chance to know his mother, while she'd had her entire life. He was grieving too, in his own way. She felt selfish for not realizing it until now.

She hesitated. "I know we can't work through all of our problems in one night but I want to come back and stay with you here tonight, if it's all right."

She thought she saw his lip turn up ever so slightly.

"Ginny, you're my wife. I love you. You _never_ have to ask me that," Harry replied, gently squeezing her hand.

"It's just that I've made things so difficult for you…for _us_, and I—well…I'm sorry and…_thank you_," she said with relief, forcing back tears. She gently squeezed his hand back before releasing it. She drew herself up on the bed and rested her head on her pillow. She exhaled slowly, letting her tense muscles relax. Then she patted the space on the bed beside her.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, his voice tinged with hope.

Ginny closed her eyes, "Yeah," she breathed. "I want you with me." It felt so good to say it.

Harry lay down beside her. He kissed her cheek as he gently placed his arm around her waist. His mouth felt like fire on her skin, and for a moment her body was tingling with electricity. She felt alive for the first time in months and despite that she was still desperately sad, the first hints of optimism began to break through her clouded mind.

They could start working on things in the morning, perhaps take some time off to simply try and remember what it was like to be with each other. She knew she couldn't handle her demons on her own any more; it was time to accept that and stop pushing Harry away. He deserved that much from her.

Harry's arm instinctively tightened around her middle and he nestled closer. He was protecting her, as he always did. Usually she hated it, but right now she needed it. She still had along way to go until she was standing in the sun again, but for the first time in months she wasn't afraid to face the day.

"I love you, Harry," she said.

"I love you, too," he answered. "We're going to be okay. I promise."

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**A/N:** For all of those who are following _Home_ I hope to have the next chapter up soon! Promise! Life has been really up in the air lately and I don't know which way I'm coming or going from half the time time, I'm just sorry that it means you guys have to wait so long for an update!


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